The Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) reported Monday that US steel service centers shipped 3,579,500 net tons (nt) in June, an 11.2 percent increase over June 2010. For 2011 year-to-date, steel shipments were 20,861,300 nt, an 18.6 percent surge over the same period in 2010. Steel product inventories of 7,936,900 nt at the end of June were up 7.6 percent year-on-year, but slipped 4.3 percent from May. And at current shipping rates, this reflects a 2.2-month supply, a decrease of 3.3 percent from a year ago and a decrease of 6.4 percent from last month.
In Canada, steel service centers shipped 535,600 nt of steel products in June, representing a 4.4 percent year-on-year increase. For 2011 year-to-date, steel shipments were 3.24 million nt, a 12.6 percent jump from the comparable period last year. Steel product inventories rose 16.6 percent year-on-year to 1.5 million nt, and were up 1.6 percent from May. At the current shipping rate, this represents a 2.9-month supply, an 11.7 percent increase from a year ago, and a slightly 0.2 percent bump compared to the previous month.